Method of and apparatus for sawing trees



H. L. HANSON AND M. B. SAWYER.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SAWING TREES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-25,1918.

Patented June 1, 1920.

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HAROLD L, HANSON, or BUTTE, MONTANA, AND MARION B. sAwY En, or EDMONDS,

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mE'rHoD OF AND ArPARAr sFoR SAWING TREES.

' To all/whom; it may concern:

' Be it known that we, HARott HANSON, and MARION B. SAW YER,- bth cltizens of 1' the United State's and residents. of Butte,

1 ated without loss of time.

county of- Silver Bow, State of Montana,

- and of Edmonds, .county of Snohomish, and State of *VVashington, i'tespeetively, have ointly invented a new and useful-Improve -ment in Methods 'of 'and Apparatus for 10 Sawing Trees, of which the following is a other inventions. The present invention relates to a method i of cutting trees and to apparatus for accomplishing the same.- The object of the inven-- tion is the provision of an apparatus where'- with large trees, such as Douglas fir and the like, may be cheaply and expeditiously felled Another object is to provide'a power driven apparatus which can be easily handled and operated by one or two men,'reduc1ng the cost of felling trees. The device can be readily moved from tree to-tree and oper To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends,

. line 4-4 of'Fig; 3; Fig/5, is a sectional said invention, then, consists of :the means hereinafter fullydescribed and particularly pointed out in theclaim's.

The annexed drawmg and the following description set forthin detail certain-means and one mode of carrying out the inventlon, such disclosed means and mode-illustrating, however, but. one of various waysin which v i the ball beingprovided-withaspike 19' and being slotted or hollowed out as at 13 to allow the chain saw to pass through and being) welded or'otherwise rigidlyattached to the frame. The spike 19 acts as a holding means :for the ball asthe saw is swung around the tree and 'is'particularly' useful the principle of the invention may be used. In said annexed drawmgze- Figure'1 is a plan View of a sawing apparatus embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a similar'view partly 1n sectlon of a modlfied form of our devlce; Fig. 3 is a sectional Q view -of a detail on the line 3-3 of-Flg. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the front portion of the device taken on" the I view illustrating the first-step in the method used in sawing a tree; and Figs. 6 and 7 are other diagrammatic sectional views showing the-remaining steps of the method used.

Heretofore theonly satisfactory method of felling large trees such as Douglas fir and the like,-has been to-use a drag saw,

operated by hand, the tree being cut through slowly and wedged as the cut grows deeper.

Power devices have not been satisfactorily Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed November 25, 1918. Serial No. 263,972.'

' used with drag saws the work has been done by hand.

Our lmproved sawing apparatus consists of. a'frame l of any suitable construction,

here shown as made up of'plates-2,-between' whlch a dr ve sprocket 3 is mounted near I the rear end of the device; A housing 18 surrounds this end and the sprocketrunswlthln an open1ngi16 through the housing t5v :whichhas handles 17 mounted thereon. In

the forward end an idler-pulley 4 is mounted and the chain saw 5 fits over and around the sprocket and the pulley and is driven by-the former The frame Work as shown .in Figjl is dropped away from the chainas shownjat 6 along the cutting edge of the device. In the form shown in Fig. 2, two intermediate sprockets 7 and 8 are r'otatably mounted in the frame and carry a chain?) upon which the saw chain rides during its travel,'to'reduce friction. In this form :the. saw chain carries only the driving strain, thus-reduc ing the liability .tostretch and break during.

.use.-; r v 1 Upon the rear endof the frame an elec-f.

triom'otor' '10 is mounted and is shown as shaft but any-suitabledriv'e may of course being, directly connected to the sprocket 8.

be employed. The motor will be fitted with; suitable controls and the device will be pro-' vided with two handles 11 so that it maybe j during the first part of the cut in p'revent-. ing the'ballfrom moving along the hole.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, a hole 15 is bored into or through tree, the hole being of sufficient diameter to allow the ball to enter easily. Then the ball is entered into the hole and the saw is forced intothe tree until v a single cut a is made, usually until the cutextends beyond the center-b of the tree so that in efiect'a circular cut (c) is madearound' the center of the tree. They saw is then backed out so that the'ball is approximatelyat the center of the tree and the Saw the tree is started.

is then swung around the tree, using the ball as a pivot until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 7 where dcf indicates the uncut portion. The tree will of course be wedged as necessary and when the portion d--e--f becomes small the tree will fall.

The hole and the ball on 'the device may 'in some cases be dispensed with but there is then difficulty in starting the first cut and no pivot is provided when the cut around By using a hole which is larger in. diameter than the depth of the jthe center-line of'such as the pivotal point about which the sawcut, the ball acts as a pivot about which the device may be readily swung to cut the re-' mainder of the tree. It is ofcourse obvious that the hole need not be bored completely through ,the tree and that any point along hole -may be used will swing. v

As shown in the dra'wingsthe saw chain runs -in a clockwise direction. and the cut around the tree will be made in a counterclockwise direction, so that the chain saw cutting around willbringthe cuttingsor chips to the outside of the tree. 7 to pass through the'ball in the operation of the tree the likelihood of the chain clogging in the ball is reduced to a minimum. vThe method thus employed uses the device "which we have perfected consisting "of the motor-driven cha n saw and of course an anger or bit will be used to bore the; hole.

It will be readily seen that in certain. cases it may bebest to bore 'several holes and cut may of the-tree from each hole or the hole be'bored through and the device. first in one side and thenin the other. .The ball on the device 'allow'sthe first or slightly V shaped cut to be easily part ball is larger than the cut, it still acts as from eachof the holes;-

willbe apparent as the device is easily car- 'ried from tree totree and may be connected saw the device can a pivot about which the saw will be swung in making the cut around the tree.

' The-present devicepresents many advan The saw is power driven and two;

outfit; one being tages. men can easily manage. an used to .wedge the tree and-the: other operating the saw proper. .the tree and the ball make it easy to control and handle .the saw during the cutting operation. If desirable more than one hole may be bored. andcuts made simultaneously to any suitable generating mechanism. The device is simple, easil assembled and cleaned, yet strong and urable. The saws can-be'easily removedandsharpened and replaced. Thus, b having an extra chain I and sharpenedor repaired.

As noneof thechips have g made and, as the The hole. through Other advantages e continuously used, one

.saw being used while the other is cleaned the trunk alon such hole as a-center line I the out being 0 less'vertical dimension than the diameter of such hole, and then cutting around the trunk with a tool having means for using suchhole. as a pivotal retaining means; I

Iwhich consists'of forming a cylindrical hole through the trunk, making a saw'cut into 'the trunk alon such hole as a center line,

the cut being 0 less vertical dimension than" 2. In a'method of cutting trees, the steps the diameter of such hole,"and then cutting around the trunk'with a saw having .a portion of greater vertical dimension than the cut, such portion being adapted to use such holeas a pivotalretaining' means;

3. In almethod of cutting trees, the steps which consist of forming a cylindrical hole through the trunk, maklng a saw cut into thetrunk alon such hole as" a center line, the cut beingo less'vertical dimension than the diameter of such hole, and then cutting around the trunk with a saw having a portion of greater vertical dimension than the cut, such portion acting with such hole to maintain the pivotal, point and to prevent.

removal of said tool except along the center line of such h0le.fl

4. In a method of cutting trees, the steps of first forming an aperture through the trunk of the'tree, making a cut into the trunk along such hole as a-center line, such cut beingof a less vertical diameter of the ;hole,- then using a chain saw having a portion of greater vertical didimension than the mension than the saw cut to -fit in such hole and act as a'pivotali axis, to cut around the trunkcf the tree. 1' I V 5. In an apparatus for sawing trees and the like, the combination of: a frame, sprocket Wheelsmounted in said frame near the ends, a chain saw mounted over said sprockets and around said frame, power .means for'driving-said chain saw, and a slotted ball attached to said frame at the front thereof, said chain saw passing through such slot in'said ball.

Signed by us "1918. e e

i HAROLD L. HANSON,

' 'MARION; B:- SAWYERQ this 18th day of November, 

